Alder Bark for Toothache
by Chocolatedog
Summary: Muddypaw was a failure. He could never keep up with WindClan's other apprentices in hunting- or anything else. Please reveiw, Oneshot!


**Alder Bark for Toothache**

"My assessment was _great_!" Falconpaw meowed. "I caught two rabbits and a field mouse!"

"Wow," said Wheatpaw. "You'll be a warrior in no time! Hey, can I share a rabbit with you?" Muddypaw dared to hope that Wheatpaw would forget to ask how _his_ test went. But he had thought too soon. "What did you catch, Muddypaw?" the tawny she-cat asked.

"A hare," the brown WindClan apprentice mumbled.

"And?" Wheatpaw prompted. Muddypaw's heart sank.

_And nothing_. _Nothing_. "And… And I have to go make dirt," he lied. He streaked out of camp. He paused outside of the old abandoned badger set. He considered ducking inside it to hide from Falconpaw and Wheatpaw. But he didn't. He knew the set was abandoned, he couldn't even smell stale badger scent, and all the warriors referred to it as 'the abandoned badger set', but he was scared. Scared that a badger would eat him. He knew how foolish that was, but it didn't matter. Not only could he only catch _one _hare and he couldn't endure admitting it, he was spooked by an _empty badger set_. He wished he wasn't a coward. He tried to defend his lack of skill:_ I __missed a few training sessions because of a cold, after all._ _Even if that was two moons ago._ Not for the first time, Muddypaw wished he was more like his sister, Falconpaw. Or Creampaw, the eldest apprentice. Or Wheatpaw, who was as swift as a rabbit. Or even Creampaw's sister, Orangepaw, who trained as a medicine cat and could find any herb. Or any cat. Muddypaw sighed and padded back to WindClan camp.

Wheatpaw and Falconpaw were sharing a rabbit and chatting with Creampaw, who was munching a mouse. The she-cats' flanks pressed against each others' as they ate, their gaze remaining steadily on each other. Muddypaw was glad that they had evidently forgotten his failure, but couldn't help feeling a bit excluded. He wished there were a few toms for him to chat with. Gustclaw's litter were all toms, but Moorkit, Rockykit, and Harekit were only a half moon old. The brown apprentice uncertainly scooped a moorhen from the fresh kill pile and sat by himself. He just started on the meat when a ginger she-cat walked up to him.

"Elmbark wanted me to ask if you wanted to eat with him. Us, I mean," Orangepaw said.

Surprised, Muddypaw meowed, "Sure." He brought his moorhen to the medicine cat den.

"Ah, Muddypaw," Elmbark purred. "How was your assessment?"

Feeling unusually honest, Muddypaw said, "Awful."

Elmbark nodded sympathetically. "I remember once when I was an apprentice, the other apprentices were taunting me, saying that I only was a medicine cat because I couldn't hunt. That sure made me mad. I said that I was going to go hunting the next day, and that I would show them that I could hunt."

"What happened?" Muddypaw asked.

"When I was hunting, I got stuck in a thorn bush for hours. I had tried to chase a rabbit under it." Elmbark's blue eyes lit up with amusment.

"I bet you never heard the end of that," Muddypaw said.

"Well, a patrol thankfully found me and freed me from the bush. But Sootpaw was on that patrol. He could hardly stop purring, and I ensure you, he wasted no time in telling the other apprentices about it. But five days later my mentor went out to gather herbs, and I stayed behind to tidy our den. Then Sootpaw's mentor came to me all in a panic. It seemed Sootpaw had fallen into the gorge while patrolling RiverClan territory. He had hit a rock ledge instead of falling into the water, but he was badly injured. By the time they got him to the medicine den, he was in bad shape. I saved his life. And he never mocked me again over that thorn bush, never.  
>"And you know, just today I caught a rabbit. Just because you don't get the hang of something right away, don't give up."<p>

Muddypaw swallowed some moorhen. Licking his brown muzzle, he realized that he felt a little better. He looked up and saw Morninglark walking toward them.

"I have an awful toothache," she said. "I can hardly eat." Elmbark hurried into his den. A moment later, he returned, a piece of bark clenched between his teeth.

"This is alder bark," he explained. "I'll rub some on your teeth and in a moment the pain will melt away." He carefully took a shred of the bark and applied it to the tooth Morninglark indicated. "It'll be as good as new soon."

As soon as the patient left, Orangepaw sighed, "Poor Morninglark. I hope it works for her."

"Why wouldn't it work?" Muddypaw asked curiously.

"Now, that's not something you need to know," Elmbark said, gentle but firm.

Muddypaw blinked "Why does it have to be a secret?"

"If we could tell you why it was a secret we could tell you what the secret is, too," said Orangepaw. Muddypaw was confused, but he knew better than to argue.

"Er, bye," he said.

* * *

><p>"Muddypaw? Muddypaw, wake up!" Falconpaw's voice cut through Muddypaw's dreams. She jabbed a brown forepaw into his side.<p>

"Yow!" Muddypaw objected.

"Quickclaw just told me that since I passed that assessment so well, I'm moving on to battling now. I have to wake up earlier now, and stay up later, and Daisypetal's going to start putting me on border patrols, and I won't have to tend to the elders as much, either."

"Oh," said Muddypaw, cutting into her rambling. He tried to muster up some enthusiasm for his sister's accomplishment. He couldn't, so he pretended. "Great."

"And today _I'm_ going to have my assessment," Creampaw said.

"Oh, Creampaw!" Wheatpaw exclaimed. "Your final assessment!"

"I know!" Creampaw gushed.

"You've got to look your best for that." Wheatpaw began licking her friend's pale fur. Falconpaw joined in. Muddypaw smiled slightly at the bond between them. But he wasn't a part of it. Nor did he expect to be—he almost didn't want to be. Almost.

That evening, Muddypaw trudged back to camp, a rabbit clentched in her jaws. He had spent the entire day brushing up on hunting with his mentor, Fangstrike. "The ceremony's already started!" Fangstrike bounded to the edge of the crowd of cats and motioned for Muddypaw to follow.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name," Pebblestar was saying. "Creampaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Creamfur. StarClan honors your patience and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan."

"Creamfur, Creamfur!" Muddypaw joined the cheering.

"That'll be us one day," Falconpaw told her fellow apprentices. Looking up at the joyous face of Creamfur, Muddypaw couldn't image that day coming any time soon.

* * *

><p>"How was it?" Muddypaw asked anxiously.<p>

"We'll be informing you of the results separately," said Fangstrike. "Come with me, Muddypaw. Falconpaw, go with your mentor." The brown she-cat dashed after Quickclaw, her teacher. Muddypaw followed Fangstrike, feeling like he was going to a battle instead of talking with his mentor. This was his second assessment, and he had done much better than during his first one. "You did well," Fangstrike said. "We will be dedicating the rest of your training to fighting. I believe Falconpaw already taught you some moves?"

"Yeah." _That is, she _tried _to teach me_.

"You're moving toward your warrior ceremony. I'm proud of you," Fangstrike said.

"Thank you!" Pleasure spread through Muddypaw. Fangstrike rarely complimented him. "Can I tell Falconpaw?"

"Go ahead," Fangstrike purred. Muddypaw ran off. Soon he spotted Falconpaw. She was running toward him, and her face told Muddypaw that she had good news.

"Muddypaw, Muddypaw! Did it go well?"

"Yeah! It was great!"

"Oh, thank StarClan, mine was perfect! Quickclaw just told me. And since yours was good, that means that we'll _both_ be warriors now!"

Muddypaw stopped dead in his tracks. Falconpaw was going to become a warrior. For him, this was just another assessment. For her, it was a _final_ assessment. And he didn't even know it. "What's wrong?" asked Falconpaw. "We're going to be warriors. _You're_ going to be a warrior."

_She doesn't know…_ Sorrow ripped into Muddypaw. "No!" he yowled. Just this once, he would be honest. "I'm not!" He ran straight back to camp and didn't look back.

When Muddypaw arrived at the WindClan camp, he paused. He couldn't stay in the middle of camp; Falconpaw would see him right away. He couldn't go into the apprentices' den; Wheatpaw would ask him why he looked upset. So he went to the medicine cat's den.

"Muddypaw!" said Elmbark. One look at Muddypaw's face told him something was wrong. "Your assessment didn't go well?"

"It's not that, not exactly. It's that Falconpaw's going to become a warrior _now_ and… and I'm not."

Elmbark blinked. "Oh, dear. I'm sorry."

"So now— so now not only am I a failure, everyone's going to know I'm I failure."

"My sister Creamfur is a warrior, but I only have my apprentice name," Orangepaw pointed out.

"But you're a _medicine cat_," Muddypaw countered. "Medicine cats' training always takes longer than warriors'. But the only reason why _I'm_ not gettiing my new name is that I'm-"

"You are _not_ a failure," Elmbark interrupted, his gray face stern. "You are kind and humble. I've seen how you never complain that you have to take care of the elders and how you obey your mentor unhesitatingly. Those are qualities WindClan needs more of."

"I guess," Muddypaw said.

Elmbark was evidently not satisfied with the apprentice's answer. "Do you remember how you asked why alder bark might not always work?"

Though it was moons ago, Muddypaw never forgot the strange secret. "Yes."

"Do you want to know why now?"

Muddypaw's ears pricked. "Yes, please."

"Are you sure? You'll regret asking if you ever get a toothache."

This only heightened Muddypaw's curiosity. "I'm sure."

"Do you promise never to tell anyone?"

"I promise!" Muddypaw's interest peaked.

"Alright. Here's the secret: Alder bark doesn't do anything. It does nothing to help toothaches—nothing at all. That's why we always say things like: 'In a moment, you will feel so much better'."

Muddypaw's tail twitched with surprise. "Isn't that misleading them?"

"No, because they _will _feel better, StarClan willing. The cats believe us because they trust us, so they imagine that the pain is gone. Faith is a powerful thing. Have faith in yourself, Muddypaw. If you can make it through this trial humbly, but still maintaining dignity, you'll be among the best of cats."

Stunned, Muddypaw let that thought sink in. "Thank you." He walked out of the den, now willing to face his sister. He would try not to let any cat, least of all himself, believe he was a failure. Creamfur had her nest among the warriors, Falconpaw had her upcoming ceremony, and Wheatpaw had her speed… but none of them knew the alder bark secret. Muddypaw had that, and he would be content.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! Reveiws are greatly appreciated.<em>


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